What About Bear?

Bear and Goose are having great fun, playing together very happily. When Little Fox asks to play, of course they say yes. But three proves to be a crowd and Fox’s choice of games means that Bear is left out. It’s a situation that will be familiar to every child. When Bear stomps off in a huff, it’s up to Goose to resolve the situation.

This is a picturebook of very few words, the story is told almost entirely through the pictures, and through the extraordinarily expressive body language of Bloom’s three characters, who, posed against rich blue backgrounds, are very much in the spotlight. It’s heartbreaking to watch Bear’s carefree joy in the opening pages turns to puzzlement, then hurt. The book ends happily though with Fox curled up asleep on Bear while Goose reads a story!

This is a superb depiction of an everyday drama, that provides lots for children to talk and think about, and Bloom’s illustrations dazzle.

Look out too for the first book about Bear and Goose, A Splendid Friend, Indeed.